Soft Participation, a gamified approach to dance for audiences, examines how dance influences the wellbeing of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) and LGBT+ communities. This research focuses on a 2022 dance piece, I Am Carisma, and, from a phenomenological perspective influenced by Philipa Rothfield’s philosophy of the Corporeal Uncanny. Studying phenomenology in dance introduces the concept of Soft Participation, which empowers choreography by fostering a specific flow state that Holds Time (Homsey 2024), creating a dynamic interaction between audience and performer that honours cultural intimacy. Soft Participation encourages a dance rooted in agency and the gamification of improvised choreography. When incorporated into performances, it provides a welcoming space for audiences and is defined by DeFrantz, Manning, and Rothfield through phenomenology. The choreography draws on Merleau-Ponty's idea of the flesh, Rothfield’s concept of the Corporeal Uncanny, and the Japanese design principle of 間 (ma). 間 signifies negative space and intervals, forming active gaps where audience perception shifts into engagement. This transforms watching into co-creation by establishing spatial and temporal conditions. Phenomenology and 間 allow performers and viewers to openly experience their subjectivity.

Video documentation:
I Am Carisma (excerpt):

I Am Carisma (review): https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/dance-review-i-am-carisma-2598028/

Authors:
Jonathan Homsey, University of Melbourne, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Jonathan 'Jonni' Homsey is a casual lecturer at University of Melbourne, specialising in performing arts theory and practice. His first book, on neurodiverse performance making, is currently being written with seed funding from Creative Australia.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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